Over the last five years of living in NYC, I don’t think I’ve experienced a single weekend where all of my friends were busy. My college friends were on respective vacations, my high school friends were at weddings and engagement parties, and even my work friends were either booked or spending their last 75-degree weekend out on the Jersey Shore.
As you can probably already tell, I am not someone who enjoys spending time alone (another thing I’m working on in therapy), let alone an entire weekend.
The good news? I have the cutest boyfriend (and built-in-best friend) who was willing to spend over 48 hours with me and me only. Not only willing, but he planned nearly our entire itinerary, deeming it “Camp H” and pledging to entertain his camper for the weekend.
Below, I’ll share what we did each day, and why everyone should replicate our agenda to a tee. Note that this guide likely isn’t for our first-time NYC visitors. It’s for those who have already hit the classic tourist destinations and are looking for adventures above the status quo.
Friday
Work from home, for starters. God, I love working from home on Fridays. What a blessing.
Morning
My boyfriend kicked off Camp H by whipping me up a latte (I’m obsessed with his espresso machine).
He also re-created one of my favorite dishes from college: an “Avo-everything”. My friend M and I used to order these massive, fattening, vegetarian (? idk) bagels with egg, avocado, cream cheese and Cholula hot sauce almost every Thursday morning junior year. Don’t knock it till you try it.
While we ate, we worked from his couch with the Today show on in the background, and the vibes couldn’t have been cozier.
Afternoon
We popped into Eataly in Flatiron to pick up some focaccia bread. He assembled for me one of my favorite foods of all time: an artisenal turkey sandwich, featuring an heirloom tomato, lettuce, pepper jack cheese, and an herby pesto mayo. 10/10.
Then, H continued to work while I spent the afternoon on a walk and popping into some shops (sorry, boss). While I was gone, he texted me this:
Evening
Now, the real trouble starts! If you don’t get that Aaron’s Party reference then please reconsider joining my blog community.
We headed to Korean BBQ in K-town (duh) to a restaurant called Jongro. You cook your meats at the table with the assistance of your wait staff. The restaurant was kinda cheesy, reminding me of a place my parents would take me to after lacrosse practice on a school night, but we really enjoyed the activity of grilling at the table and crushed most of our meal.
Full and suffering from some light meat sweats, we walked to Magic After Hours. I’d been dying to see a magic show in NYC for a while now. This date night was the perfect opportunity. The show was UNREAL, literally. Not sure how it was real. A nerdy yet charming man named Noah Levine hosts these performances a couple times a week at NYC’s oldest magic shop. The shop is in Herald Square on W 34th street, offering seating for only about 15 people or so. The vibes were swanky and speak-easy like, dark and intimate and hushed.
I recommend walking into the show about 10-15 minutes prior to start time to reserve a good seat. Upon entering, a man will serve you an option of Prosecco, sparkling water, or bourbon. By the end of the performance, our minds were totally blown.
Naturally, we had a nightcap at Smithfield Hall by H’s apartment, recapping the show and speculating how Noah completed all the tricks. We ended up staying for three beers, seriously just debating how he kept pulling out that King of Hearts…I won’t spoil, but seriously, 10/10 recommend.
Saturday
Morning & Afternoon
Lazy-ish morning (my favorite) drinking coffees and gushing about the magic show to H’s roommates. He chefed up a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a croissant that melted in my mouth. Afterwards, we traveled south and took the ferry from Wall St. to Rockaway Beach, which took a little under an hour. With an extremely mild hangover and gorgeous weather, we happily made our way, stopping first at Tacoway Beach. The elote corn was stellar. Then, we walked to the beach to sit and read our books and sweat out our sins.
Evening
We back, baby! We subwayed home to shower and dress before our second night out on the town. After heading up to Columbus Circle, we ate at our favorite restaurant of all time: Sugarfish. We simply couldn’t have a date weekend without returning to our staple sushi establishment. The Nozawa Trust Me with a healthy glass of Chardonnay hits every. damn. time. Walk-in only, Sugarfish has a few locations spread throughout the city, and this location didn’t even have a wait. Holla!
Afterwards, we headed to see Wicked on Broadway. This was my third or fourth time seeing the iconic show, and H’s second. It’s just that good I never want to see anything else!!! Sue me!!
To wrap up the night, H surprised me with a visit to Ellen’s Stardust Diner. The wait staff performs songs from Broadway almost nonstop, and the energy is unparalleled. I imagine that this diner would be some people’s worst nightmare, but it was my heaven on earth. Seriously, spread my ashes here. We split an average milkshake and reveled in the entertainment.
I think H slightly regretted taking me here as I role-played a Broadway actress for approximately three days afterward. Tbh, we don’t blame him.
Sunday
Morning
We started off the day how we do almost every Sunday: saying we should go to church, then bailing, then feeling guilty for not going and declaring we’ll go next week. Cute!
Instead, we cuddled and drank our lattes in bed and watched Ina Garten clips on TikTok. In some ways, she is my church. I see God in Ina Garten. A true sanctuary.
Afternoon
We trained to the Mets game at Citi Field. LET’S GO METS, WOO! Shockingly, I’m obsessed with baseball games. I love how food is so integral to the culture of watching a baseball game. We drank Coors Lights and ate hot dogs and fries and chicken tenders. My legs also got some sun sitting in our seats. Doesn’t get much better than that, does it?
We snuck out of the game after the ninth inning to make the earlier train home.
Evening
Winding down from one of my favorite weekends in NYC was sad. It felt like I was coming down from mushrooms after the best darty of my college career. NYC is truly a playground; you just need to research what’s out there!
I love Camp H. <3
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